Chain O’ Lakes Blues Festival

September 11th, 2012 by Judy Trull

The Chain O’ Lakes Blues Festival is coming up on Friday, September 28th and Saturday, September 29th at the famous (or infamous, depending on your viewpoint) Indian Crossing Casino set on the shores of the beautiful Waupaca Chain O’ Lakes.

The Indian Crossing Casino is in its eighty eighth year, having opened as a dancing and entertainment “hot spot” on July 4, 1925. Today, it is one of the most significant landmarks on Waupaca’s Chain O’ Lakes.Even with changes in popular musical over the decades, big band to rock & roll, the Casino’s interior has remained virtually the same. The large stage, the velvet stage curtains, and the original wooden dance floor still here as they were in 1925.

At that time, it was illegal to dance on Sundays in Waupaca County so folks quit dancing at midnight on Saturday night. During WWII, programs for soldiers were featured, with 10 cent dances, three for a quarter. In 1930, there was the Battle of the Bands which was broadcast on WLS Radio in Chicago.

Some of the popular musical bands and entertainers featured at the Casino over the years included Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Dorsey, Les Brown, Lawrence Welk, Beach Boys, Everly Brothers, Woody Herman, Neil Young, Bobby Vinton, Herman’s Hermits and Ricky Nelson, who shortly after appearing at the Casino, was killed in a plane crash.

The legend of the Indian Crossing Casino is still alive today, become part of the history and join us at 2012 Chain O’ Lakes Blues Festival. Your chance to see a beautiful area right here in Central Wisconsin…and enjoy the last blast of summer on the Chain O’ Lakes, with bands with some great names, Reverend Raven and the Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys, Big Mouth and the Power Tool Horns, Shaker and the egg…love it! For other details check out http://www.waupacaareachamber.com/event/chain-o-lakes-blues-festival/